Long arm of the law: Lillian Bushby, Milla Young and Millie Fitzgerald (guards) act out a street chase with Aladdin (Rose Grills) that ends with the wily street urchin giving them the slip and getting away with his dinner.
Katherine Wagner will channel the likes of Robin Williams and Will Smith when she takes on the role of the genie in the St Augustine’s College production of Aladdin Junior at Kyabram Plaza Theatre next week.
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She will interact heavily with Rose Grills, cast in the role of Aladdin, with Sarah Mott as Jasmine and Michael Wagner as Jafar.
It is more than 30 years since Williams was the voice of the genie in Disney’s animated version of Aladdin in 1992.
Smith had a crack at the role in a 2019 remake.
The story hasn’t changed a lot: Aladdin finds a special lamp and uses the power of the genie to be transformed into Prince Ali in the hope of winning the love of Princess Jasmine.
St Augustine’s showtimes are Thursday, August 17, and Friday, August 18, both at 7.30pm. The cast will also present a matinee on Thursday afternoon for invited guests.
Aladdin premiered in Seattle in 2011 and made it to Broadwaythree years later. It is the 10th highest-grossing Broadway production of all time, having made $500 million to August 2022. It has been seen by more than 14 million people worldwide.
Aladdin had its Australian premiere in Sydney on August 11, 2016. Australia’s Ainsley Melham was Aladdin, alongside American actors Arielle Jacobs as Princess Jasmine and Michael James Scott as the genie.
Song and dance: Katherine Wagner, in the role of the genie, is following in the footsteps of Robin Williams and Will Smith. The stage show Aladdin continues to pack out theatres around the world.
On February 24, Disney announced the first ever Uniting Kingdom and Ireland tour, from October 28 until November 18,
The tour will also hit 36 cities across the United States and Canada, including many that have not hosted the show previously. It was shown in Mexico and the Netherlands in the first half of the year.
A Japanese production opened in 2015 and sold 209,000 tickets in its first day, making it the biggest opening day for a musical in Japan.
The story is set in Agrabah, the City of Enchantment. Wily street urchin Aladdin has a fight on his hands after the sultan declares Princess Jasmine must choose a husband.
What follows is a show filled with song, dance and the obligatory love story.
The cast has been busily rehearsing since March under the expert direction of Sue Meeking, with the support of Sarah Wheelhouse as singing coach and choreographer. St Augustine’s teacher Chloe Grant is the assistant director.
Deputy principal Carolyn Goode said the college was fortunate to have such an expert team facilitating the show and was grateful to volunteers such as Kerrie Bozzella, who has done an exceptional job with costumes.
Students from Years 5 to 12 are involved in the college show, which promises to have audiences smiling and singing along. Tickets are available through Try Booking or on the nights, pending availability.
Father and daughter: Malakai Street (Sultan), Sarah Mott (Jasmine), Isla Smith (Isir) and Stella Pegoraro (Manal) in an early scene from the Aladdin Junior production that will be performed at Kyabram’s Plaza Theatre.
